Defrauding FEMA May Cost Seven Times The Amount Taken

A Mannford woman has pleaded guilty in federal court to committing fraud in order to receive more than $31,000 in federal disaster payments.

Credit Rob "Berto" Bennett / Flickr.com

Federal prosecutors say 42-year-old Kerry Lynn Rowell pleaded guilty Friday in U.S. District Court in Tulsa. Rowell admitted receiving about $31,400 from the Federal Emergency Disaster Agency in money that was available to victims of wildfires in the Mannford area in 2013.

Rowell's attorney declined comment on the case.

Prosecutors say Rowell claimed that a home destroyed by the fire was her primary residence — but that the home was unoccupied, dilapidated and had no utility service at the time of the fire.

Rowell faces up to five years in prison and a $250,000 fine when sentenced on Aug. 12.

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